Prevalence, risk factors and genotype distribution of human papillomavirus infection among women with and without invasive cervical cancer: Findings from a hospital-based study in Bihar, India.

Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is largely responsible for the development of invasive cervical cancer (ICC). Its prevalence, risk factors and genotype distribution among women residing in Bihar (third most populous Indian state) with and without ICC are not well known. Methods In this hospital-based study, we followed up 1439 participants with cytology and HPV report. HPV detection and genotyping were performed using the TaqMan-based real-time PCR method. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected and analysed using statistical methods. Results The overall prevalence of HPV infection was 37.3% (537/1439) and 11 different types of HPV genotypes were observed. Higher HPV positivity was found in premalignant, intraepithelial and invasive malignant lesions of the cervix; 73.8% (93/126) of atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and 93.4% (114/122) of invasive malignancies were infected with HPV in comparison to only 26.1% (245/938) of negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy (NILM) cytology. Moreover, HPV was found in 95.2% (236/248) of histologically confirmed cases of carcinoma cervix. HPV16 and HPV18 infections were reported in 78.2% (194/248) and 8.9% (22/248), respectively. The remaining patients had infection with other high-risk strains/co-infection with multiple strains or were HPV-negative. Various socio-demographic factors including women >50 years of age, >10 years of marriage and high parity were significantly associated with HPV infection. Conclusion Our data suggest that HPV16 infection may be the major cause for ICC among women residing in Bihar. Our findings may serve as a baseline for developing an appropriate screening and vaccination strategy for Bihar.